Chad Tredway

Chad Tredway started his career in investment banking, but soon found himself handling nonperforming loans when J.P. Morgan Chase acquired his firm at the onset of the financial crisis in 2008. The work was trial by fire, he said.

“I was working on some of the worst real estate in the country in the Great Recession with teams to originate new mortgages,” Tredway said. “The exciting part to me was that there was a lot of real estate to be repurposed and an opportunity to create seismic change.”

He found the work of investing capital on behalf of foundations, universities and government entities invigorating, and stayed with the investment banking company for more than a decade, rising to become group head of its real estate banking division.

“Our investment returns are going back to people who need it most like teachers, firefighters and public employees getting pensions or a retirement benefit,” he said. “To me, it was more than just a job. It was something bigger than just working in banking or investment management.”

In 2021, Tredway left to form his own investment management company, Trio Investment Management, which grew to $250 million in assets under management. Two years later, J.P. Morgan invited him back to run real estate asset management in the U.S., while also integrating Trio into the real estate business. The move would put him in charge of $72 billion in assets under management. 

For Tredway, the offer to rejoin in a senior position was a no-brainer. “When they called and asked if I would consider going back to the firm, it was a resounding yes,” he said. “There’s no place I’d rather be than working in a J.P. Morgan business with J.P. Morgan people and J.P. Morgan support.”

These days, Tredway sees opportunities in Midtown office properties. Last year, J.P. Morgan’s real estate asset management company signed 2 million square feet of office leases on behalf of clients in New York, including a 765,000-square-foot office with Fisher Brothers at 1345 Avenue of the Americas for law firm Paul Weiss after completing a $120 million renovation and a 708,000-square-foot office with Davis Polk at 450 Lexington. 

“I do think now’s the time to be positive about real estate again,” he said. “When you have disruption in the markets and excess supply, it tends to be an opportunistic time to invest.”